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Pennsylvania Doctor Sues Over Disclosure Bans in New Fracking Law

"A Luzerne County physician claims in a federal lawsuit that Pennsylvania's new oil and natural gas drilling law will force him to violate ethical rules in treating his patients."

"If someone were to be exposed to -- and potentially sickened by -- fluids used in the extraction of natural gas through the process known as hydraulic fracturing, kidney specialist Alfonso Rodriguez said in court documents, the law's confidentiality requirements would compromise his ability to discuss what chemicals the patient had been exposed to.

Rodriguez frequently treats such patients, including well workers exposed to fluids in a blowout, said his attorney, Paul A. Rossi of Kennett Square."